Melrose
 Abbeys |
Tucked in between the Tweed and the long shadow of the triple peaked Eildon Hills, where legend has it that King Arthur and his court lie buried, is minuscule Melrose, the most beguiling of towns. Its narrow streets are trimmed by a harmonious ensemble of styles, from pretty little cottages and tweedy shops to high-standing Georgian and Victorian facades. Holding court at the centre of this very attractive community is the towns crowning glory, the gloriously ruined Melrose Abbey. The loveliest of the four Borders abbeys, all pink and red-tinted stone, Sir Walter Raleigh wrote of it in The Lay of the Last Minstrel - "If thou would'st view fair Melrose, go visit it in the pale moonlight". Founded in 1136 by King David I, Melrose was the first Cistercian settlement in Scotland.
The abbey grew in wealth and influence from the production and sale of wool and hides to Flanders, but, because its position was perilous so its prosperity was fragile. The English repeatedly razed Melrose, most viciously under Richard II in 1385 and again in 1545 under the Earl of Hertford. Most of the present remains date from the intervening period, late 14th and early 15th centuries, when extensive rebuilding abandoned the original Cistercian austerity for an elaborate Gothic style. The sculptured detailing is of the highest quality and visitors are able to use free audio guides so as not to miss anything.
The site is dominated by the Abbey Church, which has lost its west front, and whose nave is reduced to the elegant window arches and chapels of the south side, The stone pulpitum has, amazingly, been preserved; there are magnificently slender perpendicular windows, delicate tracery and intricately carved capitals. This kind of finely carved detail is repeated everywhere you look in the church. Outside, there are numerous mischievous gargoyles, ranging from peculiar crouching beasts to a wonderful bagpipe-playing pig up on the south- side roof of the nave.
Legend has it that the heart of Robert the Bruce is buried in the abbey, his body having been interred at Dunfermline Abbey. In 1329, the dying king told his friend, Sir James Douglas, to place his heart in a casket and carry it on a crusade to the Holy Land. Unfortunately, Sir James lost his life in Spain and the casket found its way back to Scotland and Melrose. In 1997, a heart casket was exhumed; after careful examination it was considered to be the missing organ from King Robert's body and reburied in the chapter house at Melrose, with a commemorative stone to mark its last resting place.
Two miles out from the town is the site of Old Melrose, a place where in AD650 Celtic monks from Iona first established a monastery in the region. It was near here that a young shepherd, later to become St Cuthbert, was born. In AD651, following a vision, he entered the monastery to train as a monk, eventually becoming Prior of Lindisfarm, and is now buried in Durham Cathedral. A 62 mile walking route called St Cuthbert's Way now links Melrose and Lindisfarm.
Close by the abbey ruins is the tiny, delightful Priorwood Gardens. Run by the National Trust for Scotland the compact walled precincts are given over to an orchard and flowers suitable for drying and arranging. A dried flower shop offers a wide range to customers, and classes are organised to teach the techniques involved. Harmony Garden, also run by the Trust, is near by, and is set around an intriguing 19th century house with excellent views of the Eildon Hills.
The Trimontium Exhibition is a museum in the Market Square at Melrose, whose exhibitions include Celtic bronze axe-heads, dioramas and archaeological finds outlining the three Roman occupations of the region. The four mile circular Trimontium Walk visits various Roman sites in the area including the Leuderfoot viaduct, and the most northerly amphitheatre in the Roman Empire. The walk takes in the Trimontium Roman Fort at Newstead, the largest Roman settlement in Scotland covering 15 acres, and named after the three peaks of the Eildons. At its height, the fort housed 1500 Roman soldiers and supported a large town covering a further 200 acres.